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Any teachers?? Any Canadians?

Hi,

Finally after having lupus for 20 years and teaching grade 7/8 ( and 2 years of grades 5/6), for 8 years, I think my body has pooped out. I am in a flare which I'm pretty sure is attacking the central nervous system right now. I have been having mini strokes for about 5 months (about 8 in total).... A bad one while I was teaching math....

I have stage 3 kidney disease from when it first presented when I was 19 (am now 39). Also have anti phospholipid antibody (blood clot in lung 14 years ago.

Just wondering if there's any Canadian teachers out there... Specifically in Ontario??? Otherwise, just teachers who can commiserate with teaching with lupus and all our complications???

Hello There;
I am an ex-educator and am not from Canada. But, I can certainly empathize and commiserate how difficult it is to be an educator with this disease. In fact, it is quite difficult to hold any type of job with this disease, especially when the disease is active.
I am so sorry that you are having so many serious issues with your Lupus. Have you advised your doctors that you believe you are having mini strokes? If not, please do so immediately! There are treatments that might help, but you must start taking them now to prevent these mini strokes from escalating and/or causing serious damage.
I wish you the very best and please keep us posted about how you are doing.

I have told my docs about the mini strokes. I went for months self diagnosing as painless migraines (so stupid of me)!!!! I have landed in emerg twice after being told they were mini strokes. I have had about 10 of them in a duration of about 6 months..... Not good!!!

Canadian-American here (was raised in Ontario until my mid teens-27 now) and was teaching 6th until last year (5 years, tutored through special learning programs & local college before that) now I homeschool my 5yo & work with the local homeschool support (sort of like tutoring except teaching a child x subjects-ie math/science for parents who can't afford expensive tutoring & are struggling with subjects). The primary reasoning being lupus. I began missing so much class time due to flares (stage II renal primarily) I felt like I wasn't "with" them when I'd come back. My mind started faltering more & more (what I refer to as my "reboot" lol I can be mid sentence & my mind will go clean slate for a few mins-easier to brush off/recover one on one vs one on thirty!) and after a bc & PE at the end of the year after wrist surgery I decided it was time to turn in the towel for awhile-a very hard step to make. There's days I greatly miss it, but not having given it up completely helps. My husband is actually remodeling our third bedroom for my anniversary present into a classroom-it's silly but I'm super excited in being able to have a learning room-a room dedicated & conducive to education. Something greater than my old classroom where I can implement more & personalize the learning experience for the children I am teaching now. I also teach piano, RA has definitely taken its toll & after my second hand surgery I'd become deeply frustrated...to the point where I stopped playing for months & contemplated selling my piano all together. But then, oddly I stumbled across this guy's videos, who does stained glass (sorry for rambling!) with significant hindrances-it was beautiful, moving. But in almost every one he'd posted he'd always apologized for his "creepy" hands & it just plucked this chord. Why was he apologizing?! He was miraculous! He moved with grace & patience! Why should he be apologizing for overcoming an obstacle? What I needed to do was quit making excuses. As with any difficulty in life, in this instance living with lupus (or RA, etc) things are gonna get tough. But we don't always have to give up. Might take us longer, more practice, use more endurance & motivation but we're all still capable of great things. Wonderful & amazing things, even if they may appear to be simple things. I congradulate you for putting in 20+ years of teaching our youths! That alone is something pretty amazing

The Following User Says Thank You to Bakedtater08 For This Useful Post:

I am also and ex-teacher. I was blessed to teach for 15 years before my lupus, sjogren's, and fibromyalgia put an end to it. I went in to begin what I had planned over the summer to be my last year due to my lupus progression in the fall of 2010. Well, after about 11 days, I was already having to miss from being so tired, and in pain when walking. I also realized that when I went to get out my files to update my head hurt just thinking about it. It seemed like such a chore, and so difficult. In the past I had always thrived on the paper work. I was a special education teacher so there was all the I.E.P.'s to keep up to date etc. I simply realized that cognitively I could no longer deal with this stress. I could no longer deal with the extra stress from the principal etc. I went home that day, and cried as I told my husband that was it. Money or no money, I could not go back another day. Suddenly I knew it was my life or the job until I had no life. Me and my husband who is disabled had a very difficult time after that, but God was there with us all through the journey. Today, I am so happy to be able to lay down when I need to, and I still have a family of children that were my former students who call me just to say hi, and tell me what they have been up to. They are so sweet.

Elaine, thank you. I am a school counselor and although I know I need to pull on that very strength you used to say enough...I have not been able to. This school year I have missed several weeks of work due to flares and a crisis. When I am at work, some days my vision is so blurry and dark, my mind is cloudy and my head literally hurts from just checking emails and voice mails. Everyday, I am at work I look at my colleagues and I see pity and what I perceive as confusion over why I am still working. The secretary told me to apply for disability/social security and my principal told me that if I can't do my job then I'm not helping anyone. I just don't know what I will do if I stop working as a school counselor, I earned 3 college degrees and invested 20+ years of service...it's hard to just walk away even when I know my health needs it.

Heather,
You can tell from my post reply to Elaine that I commiserate with you. It is hard to walk away from a career you have invested so much into and is a huge part of your identity and life accomplishment.

What job can I do when being a school counselor is just too hard to manage with LUPUS

Hi Forum,

I have been nervous about joining groups. Two years ago, I had a crisis and ended up spending a significant amount of time in a coma suffering from pneumonia, inflammation around my brain, heart and lungs. I went to a support group as my doctor recommended and the people were in constant states of grieving. They were either grieving the lost of a loved one to lupus, grieving the lost of life as they knew it because of lupus, grieving because they were knew to the diagnosis of lupus, etc... I fell into a depression. It took me a year to work up the strength and confidence to return back to work. I am a high school counselor, I have been for 20+ years. My life has changed now that I am a member of the 40 club, I find myself constantly worrying about retirement, not having a career, not having meaning...purpose. I have two sons that are school aged, one is just starting his school career! My husband is a whiz kid in his field and had perfect attendance all throughout school. I am the only "sick" person in their lives. My son's deal with my flares by spending more time with their dad and less time with me. I drive thirty minutes to work everyday beginning at 6:30am and I don't think I can continue to. I have missed several weeks of work due to flares and a crisis in February; thankfully I have FMLA coverage so that my time off is not grounds for a poor evaluation which leads to termination. I honestly do not know what to do. This is my only career I have ever had, outside of being a mother and a wife..what else? I need a purpose, fulfillment, income- my own income. We relocated to a warmer state in hopes of limiting the crisis, and that did help but the flares continue and the brain fog, vision, rash, pain in my legs, feet and elbows continue. I cannot do this another year but I am afraid to submit my resignation, I have never quit or failed at anything.

What job can I do with Lupus and all of the wonderful things it brings? I need to know, please anyone, someone....